Her birthday took an unexpected turn when SPH representatives delivered an exclusive copy of The Straits Times, featuring personalised birthday greetings from her boyfriend and his mum splashed across the front page. The exclusive newspaper copy, printed and delivered on the same day of publication, was the idea of her boyfriend’s mum, Betty Goh.

“Sending birthday greetings printed on the front page news of The Straits Times is a terrific gift to surprise people with,” Goh says. “The unexpected delivery of the personalised newspaper made our celebration a memorable one.”

The delivery includes an exclusive, framed copy of the selected newspaper title, plus a bouquet of roses and a bottle of Champagne.

Recipients of Personalised Print get an exclusive, framed copy of the newspaper plus a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne.

“It was simply unbelievable,” Sim says. “It’s amazing to see my photos and birthday wishes printed together with the front page news of The Straits Times. In the future, I can look back and see what happened around the world when I turned 21.”

This unique, personalised experience is what major titles such as The Straits Times, The Business Times, and Lianhe Zaobao are offering at an introductory price of SGD$1,000 (usual at SGD$2,000). Readers get to choose publication dates in advance.

Jerry Siah, head of product innovation and pricing at SPH Integrated Marketing Division, explains: “The Personalised Print product allows our readers to commemorate special occasions alongside news of events that happened on the same day. Recipients get to keep a piece of history. Each personalised copy of the newspaper serves as a precious record and memory for recipients in years to come.”

Readers can send personalised messages and well wishes on the front page news of main newspapers such as The Straits Times.

With Personalised Print, readers can publish personally curated messages on the premium front page newspaper advertisement space of either The Straits Times, The Business Times, or Lianhe Zaobao, worth between SGD$8,000 and SGD$28,000.

“We want to build an emotional connection with our readers by placing them on the front and center of our main newspapers,” Siah says. “This is a great way for people to convey heartfelt messages to mark special events, such as anniversaries, birthdays, convocations, congratulatory greetings, wedding proposals, marriage vows, and many more.”

“We are excited to bring this new print innovation to our newspaper readers,” says Elsie Chua, chief marketing officer of SPH Integrated Marketing Division. “Personalised Print serves as an added option for readers who are looking for novel ways to celebrate festivities and milestones with people they care about. We continue to maximise the value of our platforms and products to ensure that they benefit both advertisers and readers.”

About Hector Tan

Hector Tan is an assistant manager of product innovation and pricing (print & classified) in the Integrated Marketing Division at Singapore Press Holdings, based in Singapore. He can be reached at htan@sph.com.sg.